The State of New Bedford

Mayor Jon Mitchell addressed a crowd of about five hundred local business and community leaders at his second annual State of the City address held at the Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School this afternoon.

Just as the president reviews important developments in the nation during his annual speech, the mayor touched on the progress the city has made thus far in his first term — namely an improving and expanding business community, highlighted by growth in New Bedford’s world famous port and an uptick in downtown business, as well as an improvement in city schools and an overall decrease in crime. Mitchell said that in many ways, “New Bedford is firing on all cylinders.”

The mayor went on to speak about not only the successes New Bedford has collected in the past year, but the struggles the city endures, for example, finding adequate funding. While the hire of new Chief Financial Officer Ari Sky should improve efficiency in the budgetary process, many city departments will be asked to do more with less. Mitchell went on to share his view of the future for New Bedford, a description of two paths the city could choose: an easy one, looking for quick fixes and stop-gap solutions, and a harder one that can ultimately lead to New Bedford becoming a commercial and cultural hub that’s taken seriously as a major city beyond our own region. Mitchell described his commitment to the latter.

Here is what the mayor said about the specific key areas of our city:

Business
Mitchell has worked alongside business leaders to encourage investment and growth in our region, providing tax incentives and support at higher levels of government. Development in other areas, such as public safety and education, has made the city a more valued destination for many businesses to set up shop. Downtown New Bedford has seen the opening of several new businesses that are thriving in the city’s growing economy. He also proposed the city start a Wind Energy Center – a joint venture between public and private entities that would spearhead the city’s desire to attract the growing wind energy industry to New Bedford.

Crime
The city has cracked down on crime with the help of police chief David Provencher, whom the mayor praised. Crime in the city has decreased four percent, and violent crime has decreased eight percent. The mayor also lauded the efforts of the new “Neighborhood Improvement Taskforce,” which has cut down drastically the unsightly garbage, graffiti, and uncared-for buildings that have been all too common in recent years. In order to keep crime low and continue to address the absentee landlord issue, Mitchell proposed replacing half the city’s fleet of police cars and the hiring of more inspectors to the Neighborhood Taskforce.

Schools
The mayor praised interim superintendent Michael Shea and welcomed new superintendent Dr. Pia Durkin while outlining the new evaluation tools available to the superintendent and principals across the city. He addressed the budget deficit present in the school district and announced a motion to close that gap using the city’s free cash. He noted the city will be switching to a new accounting system that should cut down on future oversights, as well as increased funding for the business manager position that will attract top quality candidates. More importantly, he described how the city’s schools have changed course since the threat of state takeover loomed just a year ago. He also celebrated an expanding Advanced Placement initiative at the high school, the implementation of home visits across several schools in the district, and the plans to build two new elementary schools in the south end of the city.